Brands are showing their commitment to social responsibility by addressing some of the most pressing issues of our time. Indeed, aligning their mission with meaningful causes can lead to powerful campaigns. When successful, such work can gain traction among those who gravitate towards purpose-driven advertising, creating a strong connection between the consumer and the brand.

Unilever’s Dove launched double AToMiC Gold and Silver winning campaign “Cost of Beauty,” by Ogilvy, to drive attention to the mental health issues kids are experiencing due to toxic beauty content on social. Such issues include anxiety, depression, self-harm, eating disorders, PTSD and suicide.

The statistics are disturbing. Toxic beauty content is devastating the mental health of three in five kids, throwing an entire generation into crisis. The majority of young girls say they feel the pressure to look perfect and match what they see on social media, with 53% of girls reporting hating their bodies. 

To fight the devastating “Cost of Beauty,” Dove highlighted the scale of this social media-induced mental health crisis while also inspiring the world to save kids from the consequences of toxic content. Their solution? A single, shareable film to get viewers to sign the petition to support the Kids Online Safety Act.

To tell the story of a real teen survivor, the team found Mary, who almost lost her life to an eating disorder. However, they didn’t need actors, a set or camera crew. Mary had already documented her life with photos, videos, and journal entries over a decade. From her material, Ogilvy crafted 14 years of her life into 115 seconds.

Set to a female rendering of Joe Cocker’s song, “You Are So Beautiful to Me,” the video demonstrated how quickly social media contributed to Mary’s distorted view of herself, leading to a decline in her mental health. In the end, the video reveals this isn’t just the story of Mary – it’s the story of millions of girls. The film concludes with a call to sign the petition in support of the Kids Online Safety Act.

Due to the sensitive nature of the subject, the film soft-launched organically in the spring of last year – and immediately went viral. In just 10 days, there were 28 million organic views, over 9.13 million video views on Dove’s owned channels (Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube) and an increase of 16,700 new followers – a 157% increase compared to the previous period.

It is also Dove’s highest organically viewed film. Earned media coverage garnered 2.5 billion impressions with 190 placements including NBC, Women’s Health, Teen Vogue and Breakfast Television. Dove has already surpassed its goal of converting more than 50,000 petition signatures in support of passing the Kids Online Safety Act, averaging 300 signatures per hour. The campaign is now moving into paid placement.

Tushy, a U.S. company that offers a bidet toilet attachment, sought to capture the attention of consumers and highlight the climate crisis in its own dramatic way, with its provocatively named “Asshole Activists” Gold campaign by Citizen Relations.  

The goal was to convert Canadians from the lifelong habit of wiping their butts with toilet paper and turning them into bidet users instead. Their way in? The climate crisis. Eighty four percent of Canadians are grappling with, at least, a moderate sense of climate anxiety. But of all the eco friendly actions people take – adopting plant-based diets or reducing use of plastics – eliminating toilet paper isn’t top of mind.

While it might not seem like a big contributor to the climate crisis, one million acres of forest are logged every year to create toilet paper and it’s often made from up to 40% virgin pulp from Canada’s boreal forest – often referred to as the Earth’s lungs for its carbon absorption.  

Tushy, meanwhile, touts the fact that its bidet toilet attachment requires 80% less toilet paper and saves 40 times the water than with traditional wiping. Although bidets are used daily all over the world, they’re not a well-understood contraption in North America.

For its launch in Canada, Tushy set out to prove that making people uncomfortable can be good for business. To get the word out, Tushy was beyond cheeky, and decided that bidet users would use their butts – rather than their hands or voices – to combat climate change.

Canadian environmental photographer Ara Coutts was hired to take close-up artistic portraits of the assholes of 20 Toronto-based bidet advocates and Tushy fans. The photos were then displayed in an “Asshole Activists” gallery.

To spread the word, media and influencers were invited to a preview one day prior to opening to the public. The gallery featured art, installations and information about the environmental benefits of a Tushy. Model activists were in attendance, as was Tushy’s founder, Miki Agrawal. Media leveraged the experience of the gallery for social content as well as for interviews to inform stories that were published nationally. Priyanka of Canada’s Drag Race shared social content from the gallery, and North Americans entered a contest to win their own asshole photoshoot in Toronto. 

The campaign was amplified through Tushy’s owned social channels and through the dedicated campaign website. PR efforts were ongoing in the lead-up to World Environment Day, with earned media outreach across North America. 

The campaign generated 301 media placements, 201 social hits, 243.7 million impressions across Canada, 6,500 visitors to the website and 136 entries to the contest. The gallery saw more than 600 visitors during the one day it was open to the public.

Tushy also saw impressive business results tied to the event, achieving a 285% increase in Canadian sales year-over-year, 155% more Canadian website sessions and a 521% increase in promo code usage. 

A National Post interview with Agrawal and Coutts led to same-day sales across Canada increasing by three times the normal run rates (almost immediately).

Bill it to Bezos

The Jane/Finch Community and Family Centre, an under-the-radar community organization in a marginalized Toronto neighbourhood, launched the “Bill it to Bezos” campaign with Angry Butterfly in hopes of raising $20,000. But without a global brand or name recognition, and with competition from other non-profits, how do you get the attention of potential donors?

Rising income inequality creates a poverty reinforcing loop: increasing the need for donations, while reducing people’s ability to give. Since the people who are most passionate about income inequality are often those without the means to give, a campaign needed to not only raise awareness, but have a built-in donation mechanism to make it easy to give support.

The three-time AToMiC Gold-winning campaign took advantage of a loophole in Twitch, where Amazon Prime Members get a free $3.50 to give to a streamer. If the $3.50 isn’t used, it goes right back to Amazon, and its founder Jeff Bezos. So Jane/Finch Community and Family Centre became a verified Twitch streamer, allowing people to subscribe to the channel and donate money in a way that’s 100% funded by Amazon.

The annual fundraising goal was reached in less than five days. Also, significantly, the campaign allowed the centre to enter the conversation about income inequality and tap into the groundswell of discontent against corporations that do little to benefit the communities their workers live in.